Anyone who has picked up a superhero comic or watched a costumed avenger movie in their life knows that any great character’s journey has to begin with a memorable origin story. Whether they were bitten by a radioactive insect or sent to Earth from a doomed planet, the heroic protagonists featured are given intriguing backgrounds. Most of the time, the origins are told during the span of a single issue and afforded very little room for detail and depth; while that worked well back in the day, comic book fans have grown to crave more over the years.
Noticing this problem, comic book publishers recently began retelling back-stories in order to introduce more character development. Since then, countless writers and artists have attempted to re-imagine these stories for new generations of fans, while also staying true to the originals. Though most comics wind up being unnecessary and redundant, a few of them have actually improved upon their respective predecessors and brought some classic heroes into a whole new direction.
Starting this Wednesday, DC is launching “Zero Month," during which each issue of the company’s various superhero comics reverts to #0 in order to retell the characters’ origins within the new DC 52 universe. In that same spirit, we’re taking a look back at the The 10 Best Re-Tellings Of A Superhero’s Origin. Hopefully “Zero Month” can emulate the results seen here.
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Written by Jason Serafino (@serafinoj1)